Student arrested following report of gun incident

Armed officers cross the perimeter set up around Concord High School on Tuesday night, April 30, 2013. Police were responding to incident where a potentially armed person was reported at Concord High School.

(ANDREA MORALES / Monitor staff)

Sierra Morris, 16, a junior at Concord High School, was coming back from a lacrosse game when police had set a perimeter around the school. Local and state authorities responded to an incident where a potentially armed person was at Concord High School on Tuesday night, April 30, 2013,

(JOHN TULLY / Monitor Staff)

Local and state authorities responded to an incident where a potentially armed person was at Concord High School on Tuesday night, April 30, 2013,

(JOHN TULLY / Monitor Staff)

Armed officers go file into Concord High School on Tuesday night, April 30, 2013. Authorities were responding to incident where a potentially armed person was reported at Concord High School.

Local and state authorities responded to an incident where a potentially armed person was at Concord High School on Tuesday night, April 30, 2013,

(JOHN TULLY / Monitor Staff)

Local and state authorities stage in the school parking lot after responding to an incident where a potentially armed person was at Concord High School on Tuesday night, April 30, 2013,

(JOHN TULLY / Monitor Staff)

Authorities closed off Warren Street in Concord, New Hampshire after responding to an incident where a potentially armed person was at Concord High School on Tuesday night, April 30, 2013,

(JOHN TULLY / Monitor Staff)

Bystanders watch authorities search Concord High School from Warren Street on Tuesday night, April 30, 2013. Authorities were responding to incident where a potentially armed person was reported at Concord High School.

Local and state authorities responded to an incident where a potentially armed person was at Concord High School on Tuesday night, April 30, 2013,

A Concord High School student was arrested last night after the police said he threatened another student with a gun, prompting officers and a SWAT team to search the building. The girl who said she was threatened identified the man as 18-year-old Gordon Hollingworth, and said he pointed the gun at her after becoming upset with other students who were filming a zombie movie in the cafeteria.

The police would not confirm the student’s identity late last night, saying the investigation is ongoing and had been complicated by misinformation spread through social media. Officials said the man has been charged with criminal threatening with a deadly weapon, a Class B felony.

In an interview last night with the Monitor, the girl said Hollingworth, whom she knows, was in the high school cafeteria with other students who’d gathered to film a zombie movie.

Hollingworth was not acting like himself, she said, and at one point showed some students a picture of a gun that he had on his cell phone. “He was upset and depressed about something,” she said.

Hollingworth, wearing sunglasses and “scary makeup,” was riding his skateboard inside the cafeteria, the girl said. He fell off his skateboard, became upset and said to the group, “You guys ruined everything,” the girl said.

She believes Hollingworth was upset because he did not get a part in the movie.

At that point, “Everyone said, ‘I think we should get out of here,’ ” the girl said. “I told everyone to calm down and said I would go look for him and talk to him.”

The girl said one of her friends was so scared for her safety that he made her stay on her cell phone with him while she went in search of Hollingworth.

The girl said she found Hollingworth on the third floor. “I said, 'Gordon, I just want to help you,’ ” the girl said. “He said, ‘Leave me the hell alone.’ ”

The girl said as she was backing away from the boy, she tripped and fell forward, toward him.

“When I fell forward, it looked like I was going to attack him,” she said. “He pulled the gun out. He said, ‘Get the f--- away from me or I’ll shoot you.’ I slowly got up and then bolted away.”

She said when she turned to look behind her, she saw Hollingworth running in the opposite direction. She had lost the cell phone connection with her friend waiting in the cafeteria because she accidently disconnected the call when she fell, she said.

When the girl rejoined the other students and told them what had happened, one of them called the police, she said.

The girl turns 16 today.

"When he pointed the gun at me, I thought, 'Oh my God, I don't even get to turn 16,' " she said.

Concord police Chief John Duval said the suspect was arrested off school property, though he didn’t specify where.

A group of more than 20 Concord police officers and members of the Central New Hampshire Special Operations team entered the building just before 9:30 p.m. to conduct a thorough search. Officers did not leave the building until about 10:30 p.m. The building was deemed safe, and nothing dangerous was found, Superintendent Chris Rath said.

Several activities were going on inside the school last night when it was evacuated about 8 p.m., including play rehearsal, the Freeze Band practice and culinary classes through Lakes Region Community College. Bill Rogers, a janitor who was also photographing for the culinary class, said the police came in the building just before 8 p.m. and told everyone to evacuate immediately.

The police were checking cars as people left campus, Rogers said. Access to campus was blocked off until about 11 p.m.

As students filming the zombie movie were evacuated, inaccurate reports spread on social media that bloodied students were leaving the building. Those statements were not true, Assistant Principal Steve Rothenberg said.

School today will be conducted as usual. Duval stressed that there is no continuing threat.

"That's my first priority, is the safety of our students," he said at about 11:30 p.m. "I feel confident (that) because of the arrest, there is no concern for anyone attending schools tomorrow."

(Tricia L. Nadolny can be reached at 369-3306 or tnadolny@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @tricia_nadolny. Annmarie Timmins can be reached at 369-3 323, atimmins@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @annmarietimmins. Kathleen Ronayne can be reached at 369-3309 or kronayne@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @kronayne.)

The Concord police cleared an 18-year-old man of wrongdoing hours after charging him Tuesday night and acknowledged yesterday that they had acted on a false report from a student who claimed he had threatened her with a gun at Concord High School. At a press conference yesterday, Chief John Duval said rumors contributed to the confusion – as a SWAT …